The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey (Summary)

Some people act active and smart seemingly. But that doesn’t define them as effective people. Whenever we consider the word proactive, we understand the term as being highly effective. The book covers 7 habits that highly effective people adopt. Let’s have a look at the book through this short summary.

Be Proactive

The first habit according to the writer is being proactive and proactive doesn’t mean to be active or positive. It means to choose what your next behavior should be. You become sad and depressed because of the behaviors of others. Don’t depend your reaction on anyone else’s action.

Begin with the End in Mind

This means to approach any role within your mind from beginning to end. Understand the possibilities of that role even before you take that role in reality. Align your values with their center. Align your life centrally. The best way to align your life is to make a mission statement.

Put First Things First

One very important key of high effectiveness is to put first things first. Do things that other people hesitate to do. Put your important elements prior to anything else. A much proactive person understands the importance of the things that can be helpful and effective for them.

Think Win/Win

There is a situation when people don’t understand the situation and get confused. The author describes another habit according to the situation. Which let us put in a situation of win/win. It’s a mindset that is an alternative to the term “me or you”/ “winner or loser”.

Seek First to Understand, than to be understood

A habit of making yourself to understand anyone first then to create a farther relation. This is really important for any relationship. Take a leap and let yourself know the facts of the other party. Accordingly, when you present yourself, let it be this way that people can understand you and build their trust first. This will lead to a greater valued relationship.

Synergize

Commonly, it means to merge up with something better and make even better decisions. Well, the author here displays synergy as the concept to understand the meaning of the thoughts you get from someone else. For example, if you join a conversation, you sometimes hit those wonderful ideas that you do not use. This is when you need to understand the thoughts and merge them with best others to make out a good idea.

Sharpen the Saw

As simple as it seems, you need to sharpen yourself to be able to manage all the above habits altogether. Everything you need to do to yourself including mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Just figure out what you have that you need to change and to make it stronger. Keep practicing this habit until you see results.